The clown in the image was clearly fake, as it was a teenager, barely fifteen or sixteen, even with the clown makeup.
Then...
The fake clown took out a notebook and showed it to the camera.
"I plan to play a game in this city. How can I get everyone to participate?"
"Hahahahaha..."
"The choice is yours. From tonight onwards, the city of sin is mine to command. If you don't want to participate in the game, then leave quickly. The city of sin does not welcome you."
"Hahahahaha..."
"Oh, and a word of advice. If you try to leave through the tunnel or the bridge, you'll receive a gift from me. My little darlings, guess what the gift is?"
...
Words were written in the notebook, and the clown provided a voiceover. Even though the clown on screen wasn't real, his unhinged laughter was unforgettable. It was undeniably the clown's voice, as this wasn't the first time the clown had infiltrated television stations and appeared before the public.
The coffee shop fell silent. Then, a woman in a suit shrieked, quickly rising from her seat. She grabbed her phone and dialed, "Justin, book me a plane ticket. I need the fastest flight. I need to leave here immediately."
Panic spread through the coffee shop. No, it was spreading throughout the entire city of sin.
Everyone felt a sense of dread and frantically tried to escape the city.
Bai Ye grinned. It seemed the clown had succeeded again?
With that thought, Bai Ye stood up, left two bills on the table as a tip, and entered 2250 Alex Avenue.
It was a dilapidated apartment building with an old-fashioned elevator.
Bai Ye stepped inside and drew his pulse pistols.
The elevator groaned and creaked as it took Bai Ye to the basement.
Dim and damp.
Bai Ye held his gun, moving slowly along the wall, inching forward. Soon, Bai Ye found what the clown had mentioned: two large hiking backpacks.
Bai Ye stepped forward and unzipped a backpack. Inside, as expected, were bombs.
Bai Ye slung the backpack over his shoulders and turned to leave, a puzzled expression on his face.
No one stopped him?
The mission description stated: "The Order faction also has supporters of Batman. The individual with the highest Order Value within the Order faction will do everything in their power to stop you!"
Therefore, this was a dual-sided mission.
If someone in the Order faction had maxed out their Order Value, they would definitely receive this mission. The difference was that their mission would be to stop the clown.
Of course, even if no one in the Order faction had reached the maximum of a thousand Order Value, Bai Ye wouldn't be able to complete the mission so easily. There were no such favors in the world battlefield. Thus, the mission description read, "The individual with the highest Order Value within the Order faction will do everything in their power to stop you."
So, if there was no chosen one in the Order faction with maxed out Order Value, the chosen one with the highest current Order Value would receive this mission.
Bai Ye thought this as he re-entered the elevator and left the apartment building.
"No one really bothered me?" Bai Ye scratched his head. "What's going on?"
Stopping the clown, or rather, stopping me...
The best way would be to destroy the bombs. Without the bombs, Bai Ye naturally couldn't install them on the ferry. Therefore, Bai Ye thought the apartment building was a likely place for an ambush.
But...
Nothing happened. Calm as ever.
This made Bai Ye somewhat perplexed. What was their strategy? In Bai Ye's opinion, this was the best opportunity to stop him.
However, the lack of incident was clearly more beneficial to Bai Ye, so Bai Ye would just treat it as if nothing had happened.
He tossed the backpack into the car and quickly drove away.
By the time Bai Ye reached the pier, several agents were already present, though the crowd had not yet gathered.
The clown's words were ambiguous. Some had already thought of the ferry, while others hadn't. Moreover, with everyone in a panic and wanting to flee the city, traffic jams were likely, so the pier wouldn't be swarming with people so quickly.
But Commissioner Gordon was clearly a smart man. He immediately remembered the two ferries that could carry thirty thousand people and transport them out of the city of sin.
To prevent riots, he immediately dispatched agents to the pier.
Bai Ye parked his car on the outskirts of the pier and observed the area inside.
The security wasn't particularly tight, mainly because the pier was quite large and the agents were outnumbered. In fact, Commissioner Gordon was requesting military intervention from the mayor.
But that was for later. For Bai Ye, the current security was like an unsatisfied young lady – easy to slip through if you wanted to get in.
Choosing a deserted corner, Bai Ye quickly climbed over the barbed wire and then crouched, moving swiftly towards the two ferries.
There were quite a few agents guarding the vicinity of the ferries, but this wouldn't stop Bai Ye.
Bai Ye released Gengar from its Beast Ball, patted its head, and with a smile, pointed to one of the ferries. "This one is yours. Place the bombs at the bottom of the ship. As for the remote control and the key for detonation, deliver them to the captain's cabin."
Gengar let out a cry, took the backpack, and floated towards one of the ferries.
Bai Ye, meanwhile, crouched low. While the agents weren't looking, he pushed a large iron barrel into the water. Then, he leaped into the barrel, took out a coil of rope, tied it to the Frost Needle Sword, and sent the sword flying to the side of the ferry, embedding it in the anchor chain. He then pulled the rope, and the barrel slowly moved towards the ferry on the water.
When an agent looked over, Bai Ye would shrink himself inside the barrel. Once the agent looked away, Bai Ye would emerge again, tugging the rope to move forward.
Soon, Bai Ye reached the side of the ferry and climbed onto the deck, grabbing the anchor chain.
Standing on the deck, he looked around. There were no crew members. They probably hadn't boarded yet.
Too easy!
Bai Ye hoisted the backpack and headed towards the ship's cabin.
He had originally thought that if the Order faction hadn't ambushed him at the apartment, they would likely ambush him at the pier. But he had boarded the ferry so smoothly.
"What in the world is going on?"
Bai Ye was utterly bewildered. Had the chosen one from the Order faction abandoned the mission?
However, despite his confusion, no one bothering him was definitely a good thing.
Bai Ye thought this as he entered the cabin. First, he placed the remote detonator for the bombs in the cabin, then he slung the backpack over his shoulders and headed to the bottom of the ship for installation.
He encountered no resistance, not even a shadow. If this was successful, Bai Ye felt it would be the easiest mission he had ever undertaken.
...